Considering the credit crunch, I thought I'd be able to get cheap tickets back to New Zealand despite booking just after New Year, i.e. less than a month in advance. Wrong, wrong, wrong. According to the very helpful guy at the Flight Centre, people have stopped booking several weekend trips a year to Europe in favour of a single holiday far away. ( Read more... )

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The Science Museum held its first ever late night opening a couple of weeks ago. There was live music, robot races and plenty of opportunity to try out the displays without having to elbow aside small children ( Read more... )

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Just when you think you've left London behind, a bit of London turns up unexpectedly. On Tuesday, Wingnut was approached by an old man wanting to know if he was English. It turned out that the old man was from Bethnal Green as well! And had gone to the school down the road from us, where he'd watched German planes fly over from the playground and ( Read more... )

When I want to give presents that are uniquely from London (well, via China), I have two options: random souvenir shops for amusing tat or the many excellent museum shops. Today's mission was to the Tate Modern, where I now realise I haven't been for a whole six months.

A new installation was put into the Turbine Hall late last year, Shibboleth by ( Read more... )

bonnie-j thought the Imperial War Museum was good when she was here [Edit: not good good but interesting with faults], so when furrfu suggested it as a Saturday activity, I was keen to go. gmh came too and it was great going round with someone who is knowledgable on the subject. We spent most of our time in the main hall where the big exhibits like the tanks and ( Read more... )

Another activity while Wouter was here was a quick visit to the Tate Modern. The slides installation was gone and I was hoping to see the next funfair item, a carousel by Marepe. But it had already been replaced by the Global Cities exhibition, which looks at the shape and growth of ten big cities ( Read more... )

I don't think I've ever had this much fun at a museum. Sorcha and sister came over from Dublin for the day on Monday with the intention of going to the Tate Modern for, among other things, the slides. The slides are the latest installation in the Turbine Hall: five slides ranging from one to four storeys high built by Carsten Höller.

From the Tate ( Read more... )

Paris was always full of things to do but it was never this hectic. I was warned about how crazy life in London can get = just one example of good advice from experienced Londoners which has made adapting to life here easier. I've been lucky in already knowing so many people here, not only because of the instant social life (just add tea) but ( Read more... )